Practice Note No. 15 - Water Safety - Division of Local Government ...

3.2 Regulatory activitiesThe power of a council to regulate activities at beaches, public swimming pools and other waterways underits control derives from various sections of the Local Government Act 1993. Functions that may be exercisedby a council under this power are those that:ØØinvolve the provision of a service under section 24 and are therefore able to be delegated. This includes:- the provision of rescue services- the placement of any signs, provided council has approved the use of these signs. This includesregulatory signs such as swimming prohibited signs, and information signs such as the red andyellow flags and surfcraft permitted sign- general patrolling- educational activitiesare of a regulatory nature and are therefore not able to be delegated, except in the specific case of thepower to confiscate water-based recreational equipment. This includes:- issuing penalty notices. Penalty notices cannot be issued to children and young people who wereunder the age of 10 years at the time the offence was committed (section 53(2) of the Fines Act 1996)- taking legal proceedings with regard to breaches of signs erected under sections 632 and 633 of theLocal Government Act 1993. Legal proceedings cannot be taken against children and young peoplewho were under the age of 10 years at the time the offence was committed (section 5 of the Children(Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987)- demanding the name and address of a person who commits an offence under the Act (section 680 ofthe Local Government Act 1993)- removing a person committing an offence against the Local Government Act 1993 on communityland (section 681 of the Local Government Act 1993). It should be noted that community land isspecifically defined by the Act and rarely applies to beaches, for examplePractice Note 15: Water SafetyLaw enforcement is a core function of Government and for this reason the delegation by councils of thepower to issue penalty notices or to institute legal proceedings to other bodies is limited to council employeesand police officers. Members of volunteer surf life saving clubs and employees of organisations providingcontracted life saving services may still provide evidence to authorised council officers or police in theircapacity as witnesses to an alleged offence.Special provisions in the Local Government Act allow councils to delegate the power to confiscate waterbasedrecreational equipment to a member of a volunteer surf life saving club and/or an employee of anorganisation providing contracted life saving services.Further information about the powers of council to regulate activities is contained in Appendix 1.Councils should consider the implications of the Security Industry Act 1997 in carrying out regulatory activitiesin relation to beaches, public swimming pools and other waterways under their control. These implications areoutlined in the Local Government and Shires Associations Weekly Circular 39/98 of 2 October 1998.4